


Jason's Story

by Reader88



Series: The Utopian Knights [9]
Category: School of Rock (2003)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-07 03:58:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1884465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reader88/pseuds/Reader88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason Weaver is an African-American boy growing up in inner-city Indianapolis. Jason suffers abuse at the hands of his drug addicted parents. Jason escapes the sorrows of his life through music and dreams of becoming a successful musician.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My character Jason Weaver is loosely based on real life child actor/singer Jason Weaver. Jason Weaver is most famous for playing a pre-teenage Michael Jackson on "The Jacksons: An American Dream" and playing Marcus Henderson on the sitcom "Smart Guy."

Most people go through their early lives learning about the dangers of drugs through television or Health class. Few have seen the effects of drugs firsthand. Jason Weaver is one of the few who's seen the effects of drugs too often. He has witnessed things no child should have to endure.

Jason Michael Weaver was born on July 18th, 1979 to two parents, Thomas and Patricia, who were involved in Indianapolis' drug trade. They didn't like the regular pay they had at their petty jobs so they decided to take the easy way out and become drug dealers. They didn't care about the effects this would have on Jason because they never planned to have kids in the first place. While most people would see a child as a blessing the Weavers saw their son as a financial burden. They never showed him any love, care, or affection.

Soon the Weavers couldn't resist the temptation and became drug addicts or crackheads as the 'hood named them. Soon every penny the Weavers made went into their addiction. Jason witnessed his parents become full-out junkies. Drugs made Jason's parents angry, violent, and irrational to no end. Jason was soon a victim of abuse from his parents, other drug dealers, and bullies at school. His father once held Jason up by one leg and beat him mercilessly into unconsciousness. Jason's mom got so high one time she knocked out two of Jason's front teeth. They burned Jason with their crack pipes and insulted him every chance they got.

When Jason started kindergarten when at the age of five he was happy to be escaping his parents' abuse. Although it was only for half a day since he went to morning kindergarten. Jason's teacher, Mrs. Rollins, was very sweet and kind. She helped show some of the love Jason had been denied his entire life. Jason learned about the alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, but his favorite class was music.

In 1984, Michael Jackson had become the biggest superstar in the world. His _Thriller_ album was certified as the best-selling album of all time, he had won a record-breaking eight Grammys, he had received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was featured in new style music videos, and was on the Victory Tour with his brothers. Whenever a Michael Jackson video was shown on MTV Jason always watched and tried to mimic the dance moves. His favorite music video was _Michael Jackson's Thriller_. It featured Michael dancing with zombies and Jason thought it was pure genius. Jason also watched _Motown 25_ , where Michael had dazzled the whole world with the Moonwalk. Soon every kid in the 'hood was trying to copy Michael's dance moves and were dressing up in his cool fashions. Jason also listened to Jackson 5 albums his parents kept in the house and was amazed at how talented Michael was at a young age. Jason decided to dedicate the rest of his life to music.

Music offered a world of magic and wonder that helped Jason escape the living hell he was forced to endure. When Mrs. Rollins and Mrs. Cotton proclaimed that there would be a talent show for the kindergartners Jason signed up. He decided to wear patent leather penny loafers with white socks, a black sequin jacket, a white sequin glove and a fedora like spies wore. Jason was going to sing and dance to "Billie Jean," just like Michael Jackson.

On the night of the talent show Jason was the last on the set. Someone played an instrumental version of "Billie Jean" and Jason had the audience from the first note. He threw off his fedora, grabbed the mike and started singing:

 _"She Was More Like A Beauty Queen From A Movie Scene_  
_I Said Don't Mind, But What Do You Mean I Am The One_  
_Who Will Dance On The Floor In The Round_  
_She Said I Am The One Who Will Dance On The Floor In The Round_

 _She Told Me Her Name Was Billie Jean, As She Caused A Scene_  
_Then Every Head Turned With Eyes That Dreamed Of Being The One_  
_Who Will Dance On The Floor In The Round_

 _People Always Told Me Be Careful Of What You Do_  
_And Don't Go Around Breaking Young Girls' Hearts_  
_And Mother Always Told Me Be Careful Of Who You Love_  
_And Be Careful Of What You Do 'Cause The Lie Becomes The Truth_

 _Billie Jean Is Not My Lover_  
_She's Just A Girl Who Claims That I Am The One_  
_But The Kid Is Not My Son_  
_She Says I Am The One, But The Kid Is Not My Son"_

But the best part was when Jason got to the bridge. After he made some vocal hiccups he Moonwalked across the stage. The whole audience was cheering. As soon as Jason sang the last notes of the song the applause was thunderous. Jason took a bow and was amazed at what he had done. He had made people happy. He hadn't thought he had done anything special. When you're performing you're transported to a world of magic. Jason never thought about anything when he was performing. He just opened his mouth and sang.


	2. Chapter 2

The fact Jason had won the talent show meant nothing to his parents. They just continued selling and smoking crack like it was going out of style. Jason immersed himself completely in music and sampled from other musicians including Prince, Stevie Wonder, and Lionel Richie. His music teacher, Mrs. Cotton, instructed him in vocal lessons and scales. Soon Jason was competing in other talent shows and winning all of them. Mrs. Cotton determined that Jason was a boy soprano, the same vocal style that Michael Jackson was when he was a kid. Another boy soprano Mrs. Cotton introduced Jason to was Frankie Lymon, the lead singer of a 1950s group called the Teenagers. At the next talent show Jason performed the Teenagers' signature hit, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?":

 _"Why do fools fall in love?_  
_Why do birds sing so gay?_  
_And lovers await the break of day_  
_Why do they fall in love?_  
_(Fools fall in love)_

 _Why does the rain fall from up above?_  
_Why do fools fall in love?_  
_Why do they fall in love?_  
_(Fools fall in love)_

 _Love is a losing game_  
_Love can be a shame_  
_I know of a fool you see, for that fool is me_  
_Tell me why, tell my why?_

 _Why do birds sing so gay?_  
_And lovers await the break of day_  
_Why do they fall in love?_  
_(Fools fall in love)_

 _Why does the rain fall from up above?_  
_Why do fools fall in love?_  
_Why do they fall in love?_  
_(Fools fall in love)_

 _Why does my heart skip this crazy beat?_  
_For I know, it will reach defeat_  
_Tell me why, tell me why?_  
_Why do fools fall in love?"_

Jason also sang early solo hits that Michael Jackson had recorded as a child while he was still with the Jackson 5, such as "Rockin' Robin":

 _"He rocks in the tree tops all day long_  
_Hoppin' and a-boppin' and singing his song_  
_All the little birdies on Jaybird Street_  
_Love to hear the robin go tweet tweet tweet_

 _Rockin' robin, rock rock_  
_Rockin' robin'_  
_Blow rockin' robin_  
_'Cause we're really gonna rock tonight"_

Jason's voice sounded so similar to little Michael's that some of the other kids accused him of lip-synching. The judges had first heard Jason sing "Billie Jean" and they determined that Jason's vocal style was in a different key than Michael's. Still other kids grew jealous of Jason's musical talents and he got bullied and beaten all the more.

Jason was beaten by his parents at home, he was beaten by other kids at school. It seemed too much for a little boy to handle. There's only so much a child can take.


	3. Chapter 3

Soon Jason graduated from kindergarten and moved on to the first grade. His first grade teacher was Mr. Scary but he didn't seem that scary to Jason. He had black hair, a black beard and mustache, and a contagious smile. Jason soon expanded his literacy and numeracy skills and learned many other things, such as how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, how to tell time and the seven continents. Jason and his class also continued with music class with Mrs. Cotton. Jason performed in talent shows that included kids from the other grades. Sometimes he was placed in second or third place but he learned to cultivate his musical ability and was gaining more skill and experience.

However, Jason's parents were only getting worse. The drug they were most addicted to was crack. They smoked so much crack that they were losing grip on reality. They soon got into debt with drug lords and they took their anger out on Jason. He was beaten and pummeled so many times his body always felt sore. He was soon going to bed hungry and wearing the same clothes three days in a row because his parents were neglecting to look after their pitiful apartment properly. Jason wondered why he didn't just ran away. His parents didn't care about him and he didn't have any knowledge about any other relatives. Jason wasn't sure where he would go if he did run away. He wasn't sure how he would survive. He was also afraid that he would go crazy like all those hobos he saw on the news.

One of Jason's favorite TV shows was _Mister Rogers' Neighborhood_ and Mister Rogers also helped teach Jason several things, from how to handle the first day of school to how crayons are made to the notion of death. Jason loved Mister Rogers' quiet and gentle nature and wished that he could move out of the 'hood and into Mister Rogers' 'hood. The Neighborhood of Make-Believe seemed like a much better place than the housing projects of Indianapolis.

By the time summer vacation came around the straw broke the camel's back. Two men broke down the door to their apartment and yelled, "Where's the money?!" Jason's parents tried to plead with the drug dealers but to no avail. There were beatings and knives were drawn. When Jason saw his parents beaten into unconsciousness he decided that he was finally fed up with his dead end life. Nobody cared about him. Nobody loved him. So Jason packed up all things and decided to run away.


	4. Chapter 4

Jason packed up his things and ran. He ran and he never looked back. He wondered where he was supposed to go. Jason knew that he had to get out of Indianapolis. But how? Jason then remembered a homeless man he had met while dancing on a street corner. He told Jason to come see him if he needed anything. Jason found him on the same street corner begging for change.

Jason asked him, "You told me to come see you if I needed anything. Well, I was wondering where I'm supposed to go if I want to run away."

The homeless man looked at him and said, "I'll take you to the train yard. Hop a train and try to get to a big city. I'd recommend Chicago. There should be plenty of work for a young guy like yourself."

Soon Jason was on-board a freight train bound for Springfield, Illinois. It smelled like sour milk and moldy socks. Jason saw three other homeless guys on the train. He passed the time by getting some sleep. When he woke up he heard someone yelling, "All clear, Springfield! All clear!" Jason got out, sneaked past the guards, and went into the city. He'd need to find something to eat and a place to sleep. Then he could come back later and find a train heading for Chicago. Jason found some French fries and a half-eaten hotdog in the garbage. He slept behind a dumpster during the hot summer night. The next day Jason found a jelly doughnut in a trash can outside a coffee shop. He then went down to the train yard and heard some porters saying they had to load some freight on a train heading for Chi-town, which was another name for Chicago. After they were finished packing Jason sneaked aboard. Soon the train was heading for Chicago.

When Jason got to Chicago he decided to make money by singing and dancing on street corners. He'd just find someone who owned a radio and would dance along or he would sing and dance a cappella. Jason managed to scrape together a few pennies but it wasn't enough to maintain a decent style of living. He had to endure eating out of garbage cans, sleeping behind dumpsters, running from gangsters, and dealing with angry store clerks who didn't like street urchins digging through their trash.

Jason had been living in Chicago for about a month when everything changed. He had just turned seven and was singing and dancing to "Billie Jean." Everyone hollered when he Moonwalked and he was able to scrape up some pennies. After the crowd dispersed a boy who looked about twelve years old came up to him and exclaimed, "Yo, dude, that performance was tight! What's your name?"

Jason replied, "Jason Weaver."

The boy said, "My name is Tevin Campbell. How would you like to be part of a totally awesome rock band?"


	5. Chapter 5

Tevin Campbell bought Jason and himself a pizza. Then they walked to the Unconditional Orphanage. Tevin introduced Jason to Big Mama who was more than happy to have a new addition to their family. Big Mama said, "Welcome, Jason. I'll take you on a little tour then Tevin will situate you upstairs." The orphanage was the biggest house Jason had ever seen but it was also overcrowded with orphans. Big Mama probably took in every kid she could find off the streets.

Jason went down to the basement with Tevin where he saw all of Tevin's musical equipment. Some other kids were already there. Tevin told the fellas to play Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and they watched Jason sing and dance. When he was done they all applauded. One boy named DJ exclaimed, "You're exactly what we've been looking for! Now we've got five singers and dancers. With Jason's voice singing out we'll become bigger than The Jackson Five!" Everyone else agreed and Jason became a part of the group. He thought, _Musical fame and fortune, here I come!_


End file.
